Mayank Gandhi
Chief Coordinator - Global Parli
An activist wedded to the idea of a better India, a statesman and deeply committed persona Mayank Gandhi is a rare combination of a man who thinks on his feet while feeling with his heart. No stranger to the needs of the country, he has been associated with working towards the upliftment of the under privileged and the growth of the country in projects that befit a humanitarian.
Mayank Gandhi (born 7th November 1958) is a science as well as a Management graduate; he lives with his family in Mumbai.
He got involved in activism since 2003 and was part of the drafting of the RTI along with Anna Hazare and was instrumental in other major structural reforms in the country.
Mayank was an urban planner and used to engage with governments on inner city development in various developed and developing countries. He was part of the team that worked for preparing a law and process to remake Mumbai using cluster development model. The Chicago-based CTBUH, the largest not-for-profit body of planners and architects in the world appointed him as part of their advisory council.
In 2011, he joined the team that launched the India against Corruption (IAC) movement and was a Core Committee in this seminal movement. When the movement morphed into a political party (Aam Aadmi Party – AAP), he was part of the highest body viz. the National Executive.
In 2015, realizing his inability to continue with politics without compromising his idealism, he quit politics completely.
The 2016 drought of Marathwada and the multiple suicides by farmers led to Mayank starting a rural transformation mission called Global Parli. They selected a cluster of 15 villages in drought-prone Parli tehsil in Beed district of Maharashtra and started working on a 360°developments including water management, economic growth, education, health, social reform, community building etc.
The goal of this mission is to create multiple models of transformation that could be replicated across the country for a better India.
The last 20 months have achieved unprecedented success in transforming the mindset of the people and changing the quality of their lives.